Lethal Abomination
by BlueCheeseBallsack
Summary: A homunculus by the name of Aeron Akuji is found in Youswell where a mass murder had taken place shortly before hand. She goes in for an interrogation and is found to be innocent. She eventually joins Edward and Alphonse Elric in the search for Franz Tausend, an alchemist who is trying to gather enough souls to create a Philosopher's Stone. (Some RizaxAeron(OC) for now)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Roy sat patiently at his desk, shuffling through his seemingly endless pile of paperwork. He signed a few here and there, making an attempt to make it look like he was actually doing work; for Riza was not too far off with a loaded gun at her side.

Suddenly, his office door swung open, causing Roy to jump. A vertically-challenged blond alchemist stood before his desk in a matter of a few seconds with an irritated expression on his face. A tall suit of armor was trailing slowly behind, apologizing for Edward making a ruckus.

"What the hell did you need me for, bastard? I thought you were giving us a break for a few days."

Roy smirked. "Now that's no way to speak to your superior officer, Fullmetal. Any who, we have an urgent mission you need to attend to."

Ed groaned, "C'mon, cut me some slack, I just got back from a two-week mission the other day. I already made plans to visit Risembool for a day or two; can't I have just a few more days?" Ed paused and shamefully added, "Please?"

Roy was a little surprised at Edward for using some sort of politeness towards him, but didn't show it in his expression or tone. "As much as I'd like to "cut you some slack" I'm afraid it's not my decision. There's been a mass murder in Youswell."

Edward furrowed his eyebrows, "Mass murder? Is there any leads on the attacker?"

Roy leaned forward and folded his hands underneath his chin. "Yes and no. We have a girl under interrogation currently. She was found at the scene, but we have no proof that she did it. She was armed with a pistol and that's it. That being, I'm fairly confident that that wasn't her weapon of choice in the murder considering the amount of damage that had been done. She could be an alchemist, although we don't know for sure because she apparently isn't being cooperative with the militias that are interrogating her, according to Riza."

"Hmph. So how am I supposed to play a role in this?" Ed questioned.

"Once we get a thing or two out of the girl, we want you to help investigate the murderer and his/her motives. There have been four smaller attacks in the past month that we believe to be linked with this one. They'd been all killed in similar ways."

"And how was that?" Ed cocked an eyebrow.

"Their corpses were badly burned and they weren't burns from a mere flame. They were said to be caused by an acidic substance. I don't know much of the details, but you should head by the interrogation room and see if you can pry any information out of her."

Ed thought for a moment, 'Acidic burns? That's not gonna help me much. I need to talk to the girl, but how do I get her to talk?'

"What makes you think I can make her crack?" Edward questioned.

"It doesn't hurt to try, Fullmetal. Just try not to keep your temper as short as your height so you don't piss her off."

Ed growled, "Smug bastard. I'd rather be short than a perverted masochist with a god-complex."

Roy chuckled lightly, "This is no time to argue. Now go fulfill your task."

Ed made a grunt in protest, but complied anyways. Alphonse followed behind his brother, apologizing, yet again, to the colonel on the way out.

(P.O.V. Switch: Riza)

Riza sighed heavily at the ever so silent, black-haired suspect. She'd been left alone with her in the room to see if she'd possibly open up more to her rather than the other militias. It wasn't likely though, just more or less a pathetic excuse to get out of doing their job.

"Hello," Riza started, taking a seat in the chair across the desk from where the girl was sitting. "I'm Riza Hawkeye; I wanted to ask you a few questions," she spoke in a steady tone.

A smirk formed at the girls lips, and to Riza's surprise, she spoke. "What exactly do I get out of this?"

'At least I got her to speak, without any effort no less… now maybe I can get her to comply with some convincing,' Riza mused. "What exactly were you looking for?"

"Well…" the girl leaned on the desk and rested her head against her fist. "For one, I'd like to get out of here and for two…"

Riza listened patiently.

"I get to take you out for the night," she grinned mischievously. The request caused Riza's eyes to widen in shock. 'Is this girl serious?'

"I'm flattered, but that wouldn't be appropriate," Hawkeye stated calmly.

The girl pulled on a charming smile, "Really? That's a shame," she purred, leaning back in her seat and crossing her arms over her chest.

Hawkeye couldn't help but blush a little. This girl was quite attractive and was asking her out, no less. 'Maybe it wouldn't hurt… plus it'd get us leads on the attacker,' Riza decided, sighing in defeat. "I'll go out on one date with you, but that's it and you have to answer all my questions."

"Sounds fair," the girl grinned, "I'm Aeron by the way."

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Now who started the attack?"

Aeron hesitated before speaking, "Franz Tausend."

"And who might that be?"

"He's an alchemist who's infatuated with the Philosopher's Stone. He killed all those people to use as catalysts in the creation of it. And no, I'm not involved; I'm trying to kill the bastard myself."

Riza pondered on this information, "What is your reasoning behind killing him?"

"That is strictly confidential and will not aid you in your research, so I refuse to answer," Aeron answered calmly.

Riza was tempted to pry, but quickly decided against it, "All right. Do you know anything about the manner in which they were killed?"

"I suppose you mean the burns… I'm not really sure. It could just have something to do with the fact that he's a chemist or it could be something more," Aeron shrugged.

'A chemist?' Riza thought, 'I wonder if he was well known, or has ever previously served in the military by any chance?'

"You don't suppose there would be any record of him?" Riza asked.

"You would know more than I would, dear." Aeron smirked, "Although, if there were to be, he'd probably be under an alias. Hell, for all I know his current one could be a pseudonym. "

Hawkeye nodded, a little taken back by the pet name, but continued with the interrogation. "Alright, is there any more necessary information you have to offer?"

Aeron weighed on the question for a moment. "Do you recall a death that took place a few years back of one of your military chemists by the name of Lorena Akuji?"

"Lorena Akuji…" Riza repeated, searching her thoughts retrospectively. "That sounds familiar… why do you ask?"

"I thought you should know that Franz Tausend played a part in her death. Lorena had attempted human transmutation on her sister that had passed. Franz was the one who convinced her to do so and encouraged her to use red stones as catalysts in the transmutation. He more or less used Lorena as a guinea pig to see if it was possible to successfully perform human transmutation by merely throwing a good amount of red stones in the equation. It, of course, failed, resulting in Lorena's untimely death. If you recall any of the information on her corpse you would know she was found ripped in half, one of the halves missing. It was a hefty price to pay for the act of "playing god" on her part. Franz realized, after the incident, that there weren't enough souls preoccupying the stones to have served as proper catalysts. Hence, he began to try and find a new way to cheat the laws of alchemy, by attempting to gather enough souls to create the Philosopher's Stone."

Riza grimaced, "Why does he want the Philosopher's Stone so badly?"

"I'm not entirely sure of his intentions. That's actually a question I've been asking myself for quite some time," Aeron admitted.

"I see…" Riza mused. "Although… how do you know all this?"

"Again, strictly confidential and is no concern of the military. Just trust me on this. I'm a good liar, but I have a hard time being deceptive towards exceptionally beautiful women, such as yourself," a sly smirk played at the tips of her mouth.

Riza smiled warmly, flattered by the young woman's words. "I have no other option but to trust you."

"Smart woman," Aeron stood up out of her chair. "Shall we get going? I will come pick you up after your shift tonight so we can go on our little date," Aeron winked.

Riza nodded, standing up as well, "But I need you to stay here a little longer until I finish reporting to Colonel Mustang."

"Mmkay," Aeron complied, reaching for the door handle. She opened it to find a blond boy with curious, large, golden eyes standing there. He stood at about her height, meeting eye to eye with her. He also had his fist in the air as if he were about to knock on the door.

"Uh…" he started, blushing lightly, gawking at the black-haired girl.

Aeron blinked, "Did you need something?"

"I was, uhm… supposed to help with the interrogation."

"Ah, well, it's over," Aeron stated coolly. She then slipped past him and exited the room.

"Edward," Hawkeye nodded, acknowledging him as she walked out.

Edward stood there for a moment, contemplating on whether or not he should follow them.

"Brother…" Al started breaking the silence.

"Hmm…?" Ed responded, turning his attention towards Al.

"That woman… did you see her? She was beautiful," he commented meekly. If he was in his body, instead of a suit of armor, Ed predicted he'd be blushing like crazy. "Al, I'm pretty sure that was the woman that was found in Youswell after the attack."

"Oh…" Al muttered, disappointment being apparent in his adolescent voice.

Edward chuckled at that, "We should probably talk to them and see what's up."

"Alright," Al agreed.

(Time lapse: Five minutes)

The Elric Brothers followed Lieutenant Hawkeye and Aeron to Mustang's office, where Riza instructed Aeron to wait outside. Once Riza disappeared into the office, Edward approached the girl, Alphonse at his tail.

"Hey, are you the one that was found in Youswell?" Edward asked, grabbing Aeron's attention. Aeron narrowed her colorless, white eyes, "Depends on who's asking."

"I'm Edward Elric, state alchemist. I was actually instructed to help with the case."

Aeron raised an eyebrow and then sat down next to Mustang's door. "Who's that?" Aeron nodded at the ridiculously tall suit of armor.

"Oh, that's my brother, Alphonse," Edward answered. Al became nervous. He bowed slightly, "N-nice to m-meet you miss!"

Edward stifled a laugh at Al's nervousness.

Aeron examined Alphonse for a moment before responding in an expressionless tone, "Nice to meet you as well."

"And what's your name?" Edward asked, remembering he had neglected to ask the vital question.

"I'm Aeron," she stated simply.

"Oh, uh, well what went on during the interrogation?"

"She asked me questions," Aeron answered with smugness about her.

Edward furrowed his eyebrows, somewhat annoyed at the cocky response, "Well no shit, I mean what exactl—"

Mustang opened his office door and walked out, cutting off Edward in mid-sentence, "Ah, great! They're all here. That saves me the trouble of tracking them all down."

Riza followed Mustang out and closed the door behind her.

Edward quirked an eyebrow at the raven-haired man, "What the hell are you rambling about, Colonel?"

Mustang ignored Ed and faced his attention towards Aeron, "After speaking with the Lieutenant, I have decided that you would make quite a productive asset to the investigation. I don't suppose you would be interested in working with Edward here on tracking down the man who is attempting to forge the Philosopher's Stone?"

The mention of the Philosopher's Stone got Edward's attention immediately. "Philosopher's Stone?" he demanded.

Mustang turned his gaze to Edward and slipped a hand in his pocket, "Yes, Fullmetal. The man is apparently, according to Aeron here, collecting souls to use as raw material for the stone."

Edward locked his gaze at the floor, speculating the situation.

Aeron cocked an eyebrow at Edward. 'Why does he seem so interested in the stone?'

"So, Aeron, are you interested?" Mustang interrupted Aeron's thoughts.

"Depends… what's in it for me?" Aeron catechized.

Mustang chuckled at that. "I will make sure you are fairly compensated," he assured.

Aeron paused for a moment before nodding in agreement, "Sure, what the hell, I'm in."

* * *

**You review, I update. By the way, this story takes place during the original series. Disregard the movie for now because this takes place when Ed and Al are fifteen and fourteen and still searching for the Philosopher's stone. I'm not sure if I'll mention events from the original in this or not, but when I do I'll let you know where exactly we are. (Episodes wise) Btw I do not feel it's necessary to add a disclaimer considering the whole fucking website is one because its a fanfiction website. I'm too fuckin' lazy to add one at the beginning of every chapter as well. Sorry if you do and this offends you. I will also be posting drawings of Aeron sooner or later so you can get a feel for the character. I might make in between comic strips as well. But for now, enjoy c:**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Aeron unlocked the military dorm room she was assigned to by Colonel Mustang. It resided next to the room the Elric Brothers had been assigned to. She tossed the suitcase of clothing that Riza lent her on the bed and collapsed down on the plush mattress. The room was quite plain. It only contained the twin size bed, a desk, and a bookshelf that held Amestris government history volumes. There was also a door across the room that led to a small bathroom.

Aeron sighed heavily, wondering where this journey would take her. It seemed like a lifetime ago that she had woken up in a pool of blood to find that it had belonged to her elder sister. Before she had woken up, she was in a world that seemed like only a dream. Alchemy didn't exist in that world; it was so much more… normal. She didn't understand what exactly the world was and how she got there until months after her sister's death. She had studied alchemy compulsively, trying to find answers to what had happened to her. She remembered being at a large, stone gate, which turned out to be the portal between worlds as well as the in between of life and death. The first time she had visited it, she had been extremely ill from a respiratory disease, moments before. She was confused as to how she had gone from lying in her bed to standing in a white void in front of a gate. When it happened a frightening realization slowly swept over her.

She could _see_ the gate.

At the time she was oblivious to almost all information regarding alchemy or even the gate at that, but the fact that she regained her vision was enough for her to conclude that she was dead. She had been blind since she was about six years old due to an accident that had occurred when she was playing in her older sister's laboratory. The only time she was ever able to see after that was in her dreams. It didn't even occur to her at the time that it could have been a dream; it had been far too real to be a dream.

Aeron's train of thought was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Come in!" Aeron called.

There was a brief hesitation before the door actually opened. A tall suit of armor stood there awkwardly. "Um…" he started nervously.

Aeron couldn't help but smile at the timid boy. She sat up and patted the spot next to her on the bed. Alphonse conformed to Aeron's silent request by reluctantly walking in and closing the door.

"I'm not gonna bite," Aeron assured, "Plus, even if I did, it wouldn't hurt you."

Alphonse was confused by the comment, "Wh-what do you mean?"

Aeron knew by the echo in his voice and the hollowness of his footsteps that this boy did not have a flesh and blood body concealed in the suit of armor. She had studied on souls that were embedded into objects through a blood seal, another form of forbidden alchemy. She was curious and determined to find out how he ended up in the suit of armor. She knew she would have to build trust before she could pry, though. "Your armor is not occupied with a body. Am I right?"

Alphonse stayed silent for a moment, stunned. He didn't recall, or even think that Mustang or Hawkeye would reveal his secret. "H-how did you…?" he sputtered.

"Just intuition. Don't worry; I have no intention of broadcasting it. I'm pretty sure you would be kicked out of the military or some shit, right?"

Alphonse nodded, "Well, my brother would. I'm not in the military."

"I see…" Aeron mused. "So… what'd you need?"

"O-oh. Lieutenant Hawkeye told me to tell you that she is getting off work at seven and…" Alphonse trailed off.

"And?" Aeron coaxed, making a mental note to meet Hawkeye outside Central Command at seven.

"…I… kind of wanted to get to know you better since we'll be traveling together and all…"

"Oh. Well what would you like to know?" Aeron patted the spot next to her again. Alphonse submitted this time and sat down. "Well…" he started, "How old are you? Are you an alchemist? Can you fight well unarmed? What abilities do you have? Where are you from—"

Aeron held up a hand to silence him. "Woah, woah, woah," she chuckled, "Let's see here…"

Alphonse patiently waited for a response.

She gathered her thoughts after a moment and responded, "I'm seventeen. I study alchemy heavily, but I don't perform it. I am fairly confident in my abilities armed and unarmed and…" Aeron thought back to the last question, remembering it, she answered, "I'm from Risembool."

"Really? I'm from Risembool too!" he exclaimed excitedly. "—Wait!" he interrupted himself, "Why don't you perform alchemy?"

Aeron was a little caught off guard by the question, but played it off since she couldn't answer honestly. Not yet at least. "I've always been interested in the concept of alchemy, but never got to performing transmutations."

"Oh… well if you're ever interested. I can teach you to perform it."

Aeron nodded in appreciation, though his attempt would be in vain. "That's sweet of you, Alphonse."

"O-oh…" Al managed dumbly. Aeron could tell that if he was in a body of flesh and blood that he'd be bright red at the moment. She marveled at the fact that she could have that effect on people.

Aeron suddenly had the urge to tease him about it…

"Alphonse, are you usually this nervous or do I just have that effect on you?" she smirked shrewdly.

Alphonse became flustered, suddenly glad that he wasn't in his original body. "Erm… well I do tend to get nervous. It seems to happen more around you for some reason…"

'For some reason,' Aeron stifled a laugh at his feeble attempt to be discrete. She found it cute, which in turn arose questions she could ask herself. "Hm. How odd. Well, any who, how old are you Alphonse?"

"Fourteen."

Only fourteen? That confirmed her suspicions on his adolescent-sounding voice. "Wow, that's pretty young. What about your brother? He's a state alchemist, meaning he should be at least a few years older… though he doesn't look it."

"Well he's actually only fifteen. And he is kind of sensitive about his height… just letting you know," Al informed.

Aeron smirked at that, "Ah, I'm not one too tease about things that seriously offend people. Plus, I have no room to talk. From what I saw he was about the same height as me, maybe taller, and I'm only 5'3"."

Alphonse nodded, "Thank you for understanding, he gets quite a temper and it's difficult to calm him down."

"No problem. Also, you don't have to answer if you don't want to, but, how did you end up in that suit of armor?"

Alphonse shifted uncomfortably, unsure of whether or not he should explain himself. Under normal circumstances, if it was anyone else, he would try to change the subject, but something compelled him to tell her. He pondered for a few moments before deciding that he'd explain. "My brother and I, when we were about ten and eleven, lost our mother. It was so sudden and… we were devastated. We both had been studying alchemy for quite a while, even before her death. Our father, Hohenheim, had been a well renowned alchemist in Amestris. I never got a chance to meet him. Ed knew him as a child but not enough to have memories of him."

'That name sounds familiar…' Aeron mused.

"My father wasn't dead or anything, he just never came around to visiting us. My mother missed him dearly, and it was said that her longing for him could have played a part in her death. A broken heart…" Al laughed a one-syllable, humorless laugh. "It sounds silly, doesn't it?"

Aeron smiled sadly, "It sounds unrealistic to the eyes of most, but those that see it that way don't understand the amount of suffering a person endures from longing. It's stressful to their body and mind."

Alphonse nodded, grateful for her piece of mind, "Yes… you're right." He weighed on the thought for a moment before continuing with the story. "In any manner, we decided to get alchemy training from a woman named Izumi. Once we were finished, Ed came up with a plan that I was unsure about…"

"And that was?" Aeron questioned, though she had an idea where this was going.

"He wanted to… bring mother back. Through human transmutation, which is forbidden. Consequently, I agreed to the idea. We wanted it bad enough; we were willing to risk anything. Even if it cost our lives."

Aeron felt shivers run down her spine, knowing the feeling all too well.

"It was a failed transmutation… _we _failed. The product it… it wasn't human."

Aeron's eyes widened at this. 'They created a homunculus… _a monster_. Just like me.'

"I lost my whole body, and my brother lost his left leg. He sacrificed his right arm to bind my soul to this suit of armor."

"…So… I'm assuming Edward's current limbs are automail?" she asked, recalling that Edward still had all his limbs, at least from what she saw.

Alphonse nodded, "And when we find the Philosopher's Stone, I want to be able to fix him first."

'I see… that's why they seek the Philosopher's Stone,' she recalled Edward's attentiveness when it was mentioned before.


End file.
